No progress on contract, Anderson’s agent says
One day after undergoing medical testing and coach John Tortorella’s infamous 2-mile run to open training camp, the Blue Jackets hit the ice as a team for the first time Friday.
Conspicuously absent from the throng of nearly 60 players was right wing Josh Anderson, a restricted free agent who remains without a contract. And according to Darren Ferris, Anderson’s agent, that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon.
Asked how contract talks were progressing, Ferris said, “They aren’t going. The talks have stopped. Nothing is really happening, and now he’s evaluating his options.”
In his first full NHL season, Anderson scored 17
goals — all even strength, third-best on the Blue Jackets — and added 12 assists in 78 games. The Blue Jackets front office has maintained that they planned on him being present for the start of camp, and both general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and coach John Tortorella expressed their belief that he would arrive by Friday.
Instead, Anderson’s group skated without him for roughly an hour-long session. Players underwent medical testing Thursday and will take part in scrimmages and other drills Saturday in advance of the first exhibition game Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks in Nationwide Arena.
When or if Anderson will be involved is unknown.
“They have to be fair with the player,” Ferris said. “They may have been in their mind, but nothing has indicated to me that there’s any resolution in the short term. Josh wants to be with his teammates and loves the fans in Columbus, but you can’t make too big of a sacrifice. They’re asking him to undervalue himself by a great degree.”
Kekalainen has said multiple times this summer that he does not comment on ongoing contract negotiations. Tortorella declined requests for an interview after the day’s skating tests but is expected to meet with reporters after Saturday’s events.
On Thursday, Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky downplayed the notion that Anderson’s absence is a distraction to the team.
“He’ll get here,” he said. “They’ll get it done. I’ve been through one of these before and they suck on all sides. Business is business and we’re his teammates and he knows how much we love him and we need him. We’ll be here with open arms when it finally gets done.”
Tortorella issued a thinly veiled threat at media day Wednesday about what might happen should Anderson not report on time, stating that he would coach the players that are here and a young player not in camp might lose his job in the process.
Among the most likely benefactors from the holdout is 19-year-old Vitaly Abramov. After playing on the team’s top line in the NHL prospects' tournament last weekend in Traverse City, Michigan, Abramov breezed through Friday’s conditioning drills.
Last season, he led the Quebec Major Junior Hockey league in scoring and was named league MVP with 46 goals and 58 assists in 66 games with Gatineau.
“I think he’s a great player,” Abramov said of Anderson. “He will sign, probably. You don’t think about it. You just play your best game, your best practice, every shift, so that you can be there. That’s what you want to do.”
Crew — GK Steffen; D Raitala, Crognale, Williams, Afful; MF Trapp, Abu, Meram, Higuain, Santos; F Kamara; Whitecaps — GK Ousted; D Harvey, Waston, Parker, Williams; MF Jacobson, Tchani, Techera, Ibini-Isei, Reyna; F Montero.
The Whitecaps are 4-0-1 in their last five and have won three straight. … Vancouver is 1-1-1 all time at home against the Crew. … Freddy Montero leads the Whitecaps with 11 goals.
Crew SC is in search of its first six-game unbeaten streak since May 5-June 16, 2012 (3-0-3). … An Ola Kamara score Saturday would give the forward four straight games with a goal for the first time in his MLS career. … Jonathan Mensah will have to sit due to yellow card accumulation.
Crew SC will likely look to keep the ball against a Whitecaps team playing its third match in seven days, and Vancouver, last in the league in possession, is content to let the Crew do so. Despite Vancouver’s recent form, if the Crew can avoid mistakes defending set pieces, a result should be in play.